The Upper King Design District has quickly become the place to be in downtown Charleston with its unique blend of specialty retail shops and some of the most popular fine dining establishments on the peninsula.

When my husband and I started renovation of our 1970′s beachfront home last year, it was completely gutted down to the studs. We wanted it to feel like an old cottage with white washed walls, ceilings and wood floors. I was familiar with Maine Cottage through their website and had ordered lamps, rugs and accessories for our home in Virginia.

We visited Maine Cottage in Charleston with only a sample of our counter top material. We wanted our cottage to feel warm and inviting, but withstand the wear and tear of sand being tracked in from the beach. We also were concerned with space and storage limitations. And we wanted COLOR!

The Maine Cottage staff spent hours working with us. We were so satisfied with the color selections and quality of the furniture and accessories that we decided to order more pieces blending natural woods with colored pieces. We absolutely love everything.

The entire staff at Maine Cottage Furniture is very dependable and creative. They were excellent with follow-through and getting back to us promptly. It has been a pleasure working with Amy. She went above and beyond the call of duty making the trip from Charleston to Edisto multiple times to help with our selections and to add the finishing touch. The result is exactly what we wanted. It’s perfect! I would highly recommend Maine Cottage Furniture.Denise, South Carolina

Set against a landscape of pristine waterways and forests, Fripp Island is South Carolina’s most seaward barrier island and vacation home to three generations of family – with a main house (above) and a 3500 square foot guest house and pool where extended family can spillover into a comfortably relaxed and FUN setting. The owner worked closely with our Charleston store crew, including Sara Meyer, to plan and fill many rooms in this family compound.

Main house – Fripp Island, SC

Island Bunks, Roly Baskets, Molly Rocker

“Just to repeat, Sara, what I told you about the pleasure of working with you and Maine Cottage on our beach house. I recall the day we sat down at the planning table around 10:00 in the morning and by 5:00 p.m. that same day we had planned the whole entire guest house. It was a joy working with you and I was amazed at how easy the process was.”

“Maine Cottage samples and furniture made it so easy to choose what I wanted. The colors are so well coordinated and the furniture is on a scale that fits in most any size room. So, we didn’t have to second guest our choices. I love the finished look and am very pleased with everything. The furniture, colors and fabric are always cheery and pleasing and not one that you would get tired of looking at. Thanks for all of your help and your friendship in this process. Thank you, too, for the quick follow-up with any questions I had after the job was finished.”
All the best, Judy R.

Lucy and Gus are the very cute children of Kim in our Maine Cottage office. Enjoying a cozy moment at home together – in a Maine Cottage bed. Every parent loves to capture these seemingly rare moments of sibling bliss. They look so sweet and innocent. Now who could imagine anything less? Thanks for sharing!

“Cozy Casual” is a good description of what the Maine Cottage style is, for the most part, all about. A simple, timeless design sensibility in fresh collaborative colors and fabrics – for an elegantly relaxed lifestyle. Of course, we’re open to your interpretation too. Below are a few highlights from the Real Simple article.

image: Maine Cottage

“Cozy Casual is a warm, traditional look made for relaxing with family and friends. Draws on English and early-American furniture designs, as well as laid-back country, cottage, and farmhouse styles. Weathered, low-maintenance furnishings are easy, inviting, and built for daily life. Think golden retrievers, fuzzy slippers, and just about any movie by Nancy Meyers.”

Sophisticated New England Home magazine kindly mentions our new Ogden Collection in the Sept/October issue. Ogden is beachy oak furniture with an Ivory or Milk brushed finish within the grain. A finish much like the traditional liming process makes them impervious to normal household wear and tear. The color, scale and style are not new; Ogden is designed to fit with and complement the rest of our Maine Cottage furnishings.

Imagine our surprise when the east coast Hannaford grocery company ran this TV ad with a group of busy “mom” shoppers chatting about the value of one-stop shopping while surrounded by furnishings in Maine Cottage fabrics!

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-SEF2d_Ag8;"]

We’re thrilled they’re saving enough money shopping at Hannaford that they can afford to furnish their home in a beautiful way. Look closely to find our Branchberry and Lotsa Dots fabrics (both discontinued). Coincidently, we offer easy, one-stop shopping for busy people too and a great value for furnishings whole rooms.

We love the bunk room shown in Design New Jersey Magazine. The colors are for children, yet not childish. There’s room to grow in this space – tweens, teens and beyond. The interior designer chose Maine Cottage for several rooms in this home, including a cool bunk room. Our Shutter Bunk Beds in a dark color with a contrasting ladder is a fun idea – and emphasized by sophisticated accessories. Best of all, if the kids tire of bunks, they can peel them apart into twin-sized Shutter UTE Beds.

Blues and whites are easy to live with in rooms grand and small. Thank you Country Living magazine for including a French Blue wicker Bistro Chair in the September issue’s article “A Versatile Living-Room Makeover”. French Blue is just one of our 40 versatile Maine Cottage colors – for dining, spare or anywhere chairs. The hardy All Weather Wicker version of the chair allows you to lounge on the patio too.

Thank you lifestyle television star Sarah Richardson for including our Maine Cottage All Weather Wicker Fiona Love Seat in your recent “Tips & Finds” post. Sarah shares her practical, inspiring approach to interior design with viewers on her four HGTV television shows: Room Service, Design inc., Sarah’s House and Sarah’s Cottage. Her spirited design aesthetic is clearly very much like our own.

Welcome

The Maine Cottage® blog is a window into what inspires our designers to create cottage style furniture, coastal colors and unique fabric patterns. Whether you're an interior designer that specifies our products, a color consultant with creative block or a homeowner ready to live on the colorful side—welcome to our color drenched journey!